1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to covers for coal carrying vehicles, and more particularly, to a coal carrying vehicle having a cover which can be selectively hinged to either side thereof, so as to provide a movable roof which can be opened to either side of the vehicle to expose the coal or other load being carried therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The problem of how to provide satisfactory covers for open-top vehicles intended to carry coal, or other materials which can spill or be blown from the open top of the vehicle during transit, has been one of longstanding in the art. Typically, the truck or other vehicle in which the material is being carried has an open-topped container bed, which is covered with a tarpaulin, such as a canvas tarpaulin. However, such tarpaulins are not a satisfactory solution to the problem because they are difficult and time consuming to securely fasten to the open top of the bed, and it is just as difficult and time consuming to remove them for unloading.
This is a particular problem with coal carrying trucks, which often must have the loads sampled by an auger or other sampling device before the truck is permitted to unload, often at some distance from the sampling operation. The operator of the vehicle must either leave the tarpaulin off after the sampling operation and risk the loss of coal when driving to the unloading area, or lose time in reinstalling the tarpaulin. In addition, due to the height of the truck bed, installing and removing the tarpaulins is a somewhat dangerous operation, and the tarpaulin is not particularly durable.
In view of the foregoing, the art has attempted many solutions to the problem of providing satisfactory covers for vehicles having open-top bodies. However, many of these efforts have been limited to small trucks and have involved mechanisms, such as a spring-loaded mechanism, which would not be appropriate to large trucks where the liftable cover is relatively heavy; and many of the solutions provide relatively little distance between the top of the bed of the truck and the underside of the cover when the cover is in the raised position, all of which severely limit the utility of the vehicle in terms of loading and unloading. For large coal or gravel-carrying vehicles, in order to make a practical cover means, the cover must be capable of being quickly and easily operated with simple-to-operate mechanisms, a lifting means must be provided which assures that the cover is lifted in a predictable manner, and the cover must be operable in a manner to ensure that loading or unloading will be easy using conventional equipment.